Soft corn shields



Mamh 3958 G. c. FISHER 2,827,050

SOFT CORN SHIELDS Filed Oct. 11, 1955 lNVENTORI GEORGE c. FISHER United States Patent Q SOFT CORN SHIELDS George C. Fisher, Berwyn, Ill.

Application October 11, 1955, Serial No. 539,781

3 Claims. (Cl. 128-153) My invention relates to appliances for relief of soft corns, nail corns, corns growing on top of a toe, calluses and other deformities, and more particularly to shields for preventing pressure on the corn. Various pads have been devised for this purpose, but they are eflicient only from the relieving point of view, and usually not from the retentive standpoint. It is therefore one object of the present invention to provide a shield which is not only a relieving agent for the deformity to which it is applied, but is also constructed to hold its place at all times.

A further object is to provide a shield which is basically in the form of a ring mountable on a toe for support and formed with means to shield at deformity on the toe or in the neighborhood thereof.

Another object is to apply the ring-shaped shield at a point behind the deformity, in order that it may raise the toe from the shoe to relieve a bottom deformity while provi ing a top shielding factor in case the deformity is or. top of the toe.

An additional object is to construct the novel shield in a single piece of firm felt or pad material which is shaped to make a comfortable and convenient fit in the region to which it is applied.

With the above objects in view, a better understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the novel shield in the original form;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the relieving portion of the shield extended in the position of use;

Fig. 3 is a view showing the shield as worn on toe in a shoe;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the shield mounted on one of the smaller toes with the relieving portion applied to a soft corn; and

Fig. 5 is a bottom view of a foot illustration showing the shield applied to one of the smaller toes with the relieving portion underneath.

In accordance with the foregoing, specific reference to the drawing indicates the basic portion of the shield as a band of substantially semi-circular form and square cross-section. This band terminates with a pad portion 11 which is extended endwise with a chamfered portion 13, such portion being concaved from side to side. The portion has a tongue 15 extending inwardly, such tongue terminating with a beveled edge 16.

As seen in Fig. 3, the shield is applied by sliding the band 10 thereof over the toe and back along the same beyond the top corn which the shield is designed to relieve. Or, the deformity may be a bottom com 21. However, the pad portion 11 of the shield is bent back to seat the chamfered portion 13 over the foot or instep thereof, so that such portion forms a support for the top 23 of the shoe. The tongue 15 extends forwardly to form the relieving portion of the shield, namely, to keep the shoe top 23 high off the corn 20. Of course, should the bottom "ice com 21 be the deformity which should be shielded, the shield would be rotated to place the tongue 15 on the bottom just behind the corn, as is illustrated in connection with a smaller toe in Fig. 5, whereby to raise the ball of the toe from the sole of the shoe. Also, Fig. 4 shows how the shield is rotated to locate the tongue 15 at a point back of a soft corn occurring between the smaller toes, so that the toes will be kept apart in the region of the corn.

It will now be apparent that the novel shield has a number of important advantages. First, it presents the band 10 as a retainer to support it on the chosen toe at a point adjacent to a deformity, which may also be a callus on the underside of the foot, Fig. 3 showing how the callus is kept raised from the sole of the shoe in such event. Futher, the pad 11 bends over to form a platform over the higher part of the foot in order to raise the top of the shoe at a point considerably back of the deformity, the chamfer 13 helping to break the gap in the level of the shoe top in case such top is of a flexible or soft nature. The bevel 16 of the tongue has the same function in the forward direction in case the shoe top has a tendency to sag. Further, with the band 10 rotatable, the relieving features of the shield may be located at any point desired, whether such point is at the top, bottom or sides. Further, with the shield applied behind the deformity, the shield is not apt to slip ofi or creep into the toe of the shoe, but hold its place behind the deformity. Further, it is evident that the novel shield, being made in one piece, is of utmost simplicity in construction and originally in fiat form, as shown in Fig. 1. Thus, the shield may be kept conveniently in a flat envelope. Finally, while the shield is of a felt or padding construction, it has sufficient flexibility or yield to be comfortable at all times; and it requires no adhesive for its application.

While I have described the invention along specific lines, various minor changes or refinements may be made therein without departing from its principle, and I reserve the right to employ all such changes and refinements as may come within the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A shield for toe deformities comprising a pad of substantially firm textile material, the pad being extended in one direction with a band and having parallel slits to define a tongue entering the band, and said tongue being bendable out of the band at full width upon a toe insertible into the band.

2. A shield for toe deformities comprising a pad of substantially firm textile material, the pad being extended in one direction with a band, and a tongue extended from the pad into the band, the free end of the tongue being chamfered from the top to gradually slope toward its bottom edge.

3. A shield for toe deformities comprising a pad of substantially firm textile material, the pad being extended in one direction with a band, and a tongue extended from the pad into the band, the free end of the tongue being concaved.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,183,701 Toner Dec. 19, 1939 2,510,780 Hatkoff liune 6, 1950 2,539,115 Brachman Ian. 23, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 935,109. France Ian. 19, 1948 

